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Gareth Davies keen on 'another big day at the office'
Wales scrum-half Gareth Davies has scored six tries in seven World Cup games – and he readily admits to relishing the sport’s biggest stage.
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Davies will line up against Fiji in Oita on Wednesday with memories still fresh of his spectacular interception score that helped sink Australia 10 days ago.
And the Scarlets number nine’s impressive strike-rate makes him a key attacking weapon for the unbeaten Pool D leaders.
“I like to think my form away from the World Cup is pretty good, but it is a good stage to shine on,” he said.
“It is pretty special, it’s the best tournament in the world, the biggest stage to play on, and as players as soon as this one has finished we start looking forward to the next one.
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“We have been looking forward to this World Cup for a while, building towards it, and it is great that we have got off to a good start.”
Davies has developed a knack of claiming interception tries, with his blistering pace and clever positional play making him a constant threat to opposition defences.
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“With Shaun Edwards (Wales defence specialist) we do a lot of work on our general line speed, and the whole team brings a lot of line speed,” Davies added.
“If I find myself in the right place at the right time, I like to think I am pretty quick and I get off the line pretty fast and sometimes the ball is there to take.
“It is not on all the time, so I have got to pick my moment.
“Against Australia, I was lucky and picked the right moment for the try, but I can’t do it too much as I would expose too much space elsewhere.
“I have to be careful at times, but hopefully I can pick the right moments and make the right decisions and keep doing it.
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”I might not get one (intercept) for another couple of games, but I will keep looking for them.”
Davies is edging towards 50 caps for his country, and also continues to reap the rewards of a hard summer’s training and Test match warm-up period prior to the World Cup.
Just as things were going so well, England's Rugby World Cup campaign is coming under threat from three directions.?#ENGvFRA #RWC2019 #RWCTokyo #englandrugby https://t.co/FMa6cIWJxJ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 8, 2019
“I had a quiet summer (away from rugby), to be honest. I didn’t do what I normally do, so there were no trips to (Las) Vegas or anything like that,” he said.
“I knew the training camps we had lined up in Switzerland and Turkey were going to be tough. I just kept my head down and when we came into camp the hard work really started.
“It was a really tough couple of months, but we are all feeling good and fit.
“We try to move other teams around as much as we can.
“We knew we had Georgia up first, and we knew they would be a big physical pack, so we wanted to play some rugby against them to try and tire the forwards out.
“We did that in first game and in the first half against Australia but not quite as much in the second half – but our defensive game was outstanding and that’s what got us the win.”
Wales have beaten Fiji in the last two World Cups, and another success would confirm a quarter-final place ahead of Sunday’s final group game against Uruguay.
“Some of the individuals they have got are outstanding,” Davies added. “We will have to keep a close eye on some of their backs.
“They have got some big physical ball players in the pack as well, so it is going to be a big day at the office for us.
“We know how the Fijians play, and we have to expect the unexpected against them.”
– PA
Wales know exactly what to expect from their clash with Fiji:
Comments on RugbyPass
Good decision, very good player but not international quality. But so was Jamison Gibson Park …..
2 Go to commentsLoose forwards always look good going forward and winning. It’s the same loose forwards for the Crusaders and the Canes this year as last year. Too much of the shiny new things getting noticed here while older consistent ones getting bagged. It’s early days. Calm the farm.
5 Go to commentsThanks Nick, and on the money. We tend to be apathetic until something REALLY BAD happens, then we aren't! At least this applies to the Reb players and coach, if not the spectators. They seem to be getting very quick ball at times. Have they altered something, or is it just all of the skills coming together at the right time? It seems almost the opposite of the Reds, who started the season with quick ball, but haven't been showing that in the last 3 losing games. Is it attitude (McDermott hasn't looked “right” to me for 3 weeks), or something else?
23 Go to commentsGood summary. As said, Sevu Reece has been electrifying for the Crusaders. Great try and he has been everywhere. Amazing he is now equal with Caleb Ralph , club record of 52 tries for the Crusaders. That record beckons. Good to see Dallas McLeod getting regular starts at last. A big few weeks are ahead.
5 Go to commentsGood article/interview.As was said Christian Lio-Willie was barnstorming when he came on for the Crusaders. What happened at the end, self-explanatory.Captain fantastic Scott Barrett is due back soon as well, once they are back from Aussie. Great to see Ethan Blackadder back last week.
1 Go to commentsYou must have been watching one team, Andrew - and even then you missed the brightest star in the Chiefs pack - Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 2 turnovers, genuine line-out presence and grunt around the field, and the soft hands of a back.
5 Go to commentsHaha what a crock of sh!t these headlines are. Moorby’s best year was that first. Still doesn’t seem to have the same game about him as when he was fresh but has bounced back well this season to be playing consistent tight accurate footy
2 Go to commentsIt’s even dumber than Bernard Foley not kicking the penalty to touch in the Melbourne Bledisloe in 2022.
3 Go to commentsYes, they are traveling well but it’s early days. The Chiefs were in front with 20 to go while they snatched a last minute win v the Reds. Keep calm.
1 Go to commentsThe failure of the Irish system / rugby playing style to produce their own backs has them looking elsewhere for innovation and flair - not that Jordie has much flair. He’s a converted fullback. The Canes have plenty of other younger options.
9 Go to comments1.Watch Wallace Sititi be the wild card AB. A genuine full time no 8 2. Luke J like Sotutu has not delivered. 3. Chiefs have all the right cattle but badly miss the leadership of Webber. LJ is about as unconvincing as Sam Cane when under the pump. They had the winning of that game in the second half then fell apart.
5 Go to commentsYes the Rebels are showing signs of life because they are literally playing for their live -lihoods and thanks to their Australian attack coach. However they are still playing an essentially dull boring south african style for the rest of the time. And Geoff Parling must be the most useless lineout coach ever. Worse than Steve Hansen even. Interestingly we are starting to see more cheap shots and attempts to get away with cheating by Australian players, now they are being influenced by Joe Schmidt. It was exactly the same when Rennie started out as Wallaby coach and thru his tenure. Trying to teach Australians to play like kiwis doesn’t work, as the last 20 years has conclusively demonstrated. Especially when we are not as good at it as kiwis. Which of course is the whole idea …..
23 Go to commentsGreat signing, not sure where he’ll fit in though. As for him ‘playing alongside RG Snyman, that’s highly debatable given the likelyhood that the latter will spend most of the season on sick leave.
9 Go to commentsWowee!
9 Go to commentsEvery team that has played a game in Africa this Champions Cup season is already out of the competition - including the SA teams. Could be a concidence.
30 Go to commentsthat should offer some experiences for Jordie.
9 Go to commentsJust remember: He is not a winger. Took Ian Foster 2 years to figure that out.
9 Go to commentsExcellent article, Nick. We (your RP colleague Brett McKay and my 8/9 Combo cohost), are going to have LSL on our podcast later this month. He has shown consistent excellence as a leader and lock. I’ll chat with you offline about a line of questioning if you have time. H
23 Go to commentsSo no Irish fan or journalist suggested JGP was as good as DuPont. Then even the guy who supposedly did is from Wales and said JGP would be the best around if it was t for DuPont. Right, so what is this story about again
19 Go to commentsGreat news for the URC. Leinster will always attract top talent. Another huge name added to their stable
9 Go to comments